How to save time and reduce frustration when writing manuscripts by using customised Captions to manage the numbering, citation and renaming of Supplementary Materials

<p>This manuscript describes a
simple method for writing a manuscript which saves time, money and frustration.
I show how to generate customised Caption Labels (<i>e.g.</i>, “Extended Data”, “Supplementary Figure”, “Supplementary Note”
or “Supplemental Table”). Each Caption Label is numbered automatically
according to its type and order in the text (<i>e.g.</i>,
“Supplementary Video 1”). I show how to convert one type of Caption Label to
another (<i>e.g.</i>, turn all “Extended
Data” into conventional “Figures”). Finally, I show how one can insert, delete
or re-order material using cut-and-paste such that all the numbering (in Figure
Legends and in the main body of the text) is updated automatically with two
clicks. This method works in Microsoft Word and a similar feature is available in Open Office. The
Figures and additional material for a manuscript can be converted into a
different format in a few minutes. </p><p>This method should help researchers save
thousands of hours and tax dollars. This is because different journals have different in-house styles. Collectively, researchers waste thousands of hours when re-submitting manuscripts to different journals because they have to convert one type of Caption Label into another type and then usually have to manually re-number each item in the text. </p><p>For example, some journals have no limit to the number of Figures allowed in a manuscript whereas others are more restrictive but allow Supplementary Information: however, whereas some journals allow inclusion of “Extended Data” (Nature), other journals preclude any form of “Supplemental Information” (<i>e.g.</i>, Journal of Neuroscience), whilst others allow “Supplemental Information” (Cell) or “Supplementary Information” (Science). </p>